Tfl pledges to make space for cycling and space for people on Westminster Bridge

Transport for London have proposed changes to make the area immediately south of Westminster Bridge in Lambeth and Westminster Bridge itself more cycle and pedestrian friendly.

Currently the 'roundabout' formed by the roads around the Park Plaza Hotel, near to County Hall and the rear of Waterloo Station, can be unpleasant and intimidating for cyclists and pedestrians.

This new scheme will see changes to Westminster Bridge, Westminster Bridge Road, Lambeth Palace Road, Addington Street and York Road.

The proposals seek to make the area more cycle friendly by a range of measures to give cyclists dedicated space. Improved crossings, clearer footways and a new crossing on Westminster Bridge Road will make the area more pedestrian friendly.

The improvements will connect the East-West Cycle Superhighway on the north bank of the Thames and the Central London Cycling Grid on Belvedere Road and Royal Street in Lambeth.

On Westminster Bridge TfL are offering two options: a 1.8 metre segregated cycle lane in each direction or a 2.3 metre mandatory cycle lane in each direction. The former would offer greater safety for cyclists but with fewer opportunities for overtaking in the lane, the latter would offer greater space for cyclists to overtake each other but no physical separation of cyclists from the motor traffic.

Lambeth Cyclists will be responding to this consultation - come along to our meeting to feed into the process. In addition we encourage all cyclists to respond individually - see https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/roads/westminster-bridge-south for further details. The closing date for the consultation is 22 December 2015.

Provide cyclists with dedicated road space on Westminster Bridge, Westminster Bridge Road, Lambeth Palace Road, Addington Street and York Road; cyclists would be separated from traffic by a kerb or white line

Separate cyclists and motor vehicle movements at junctions; cyclists would have their own traffic signals which would operate at different times to those for other traffic

Widen the pedestrian/cycle crossing by the south end of Belvedere Road and improve the connection between Belvedere Road and Westminster Bridge Road

Convert the pedestrian crossing on Lambeth Palace Road outside the hospital to a pedestrian/cycle crossing so that cyclists can access Royal Street from Lambeth Palace Road. The crossing would be changed from ‘staggered’ (two separate crossings with an island in the middle) to ‘straight across’ (a single crossing)

Provide bus stop bypasses at bus stops D and E on Westminster Bridge Road, bus stops B and C on Lambeth Palace Road and the tour bus stop at the east side of Westminster Bridge so that cyclists could avoid having to mix with traffic. Cyclists would continue behind the bus stops on a carriageway-level cycle track, which would feature a chicane and narrowed track to reduce speeds. Bus passengers would access the bus stop waiting area by crossing the cycle track using a marked crossing point/s

Widen the footway on the corner of York Road and Westminster Bridge Road to slow down left turning vehicles.

Cyclists would still be able to use the northbound bus and cyclist only route from Westminster Bridge Road to York Road

Summary of proposed changes for pedestrians

Provide a new pedestrian crossing on Westminster Bridge Road between the new ‘Urbanest’ building and the Park Plaza (Westminster Bridge) hotel to give a more direct walking route along Westminster Bridge Road and between Lambeth Palace Road and York Road. This would be subject to agreement with the Park Plaza Hotel Group

Improve the quality and consistency of the pavements on Westminster Bridge Road and on the ‘roundabout’

Widen the pedestrian crossing at the south end of Belvedere Road

Widen the western pavement of York Road by the Park Plaza hotel and plant trees on the new pavement area

Provide improved footway materials at the following locations:
the service access to the Park Plaza (County Hall) and Travelodge hotels on Addington Street
the northern footway on Westminster Bridge Road where it meets Belvedere Road
the access to the London Marriot County Hall hotel on Westminster Bridge Road
the accesses to St. Thomas’ hospital on Lambeth Palace Road

Welcome to the Lambeth Cyclists website

Lambeth Cyclists is the Lambeth borough branch of the London Cycling Campaign. We work to promote cycling, improve conditions for cyclists and raise the profile of cycling in the borough. We meet on the third Tuesday of the month - come along and find out more!